HONDA have started the big changes that are required to put Jenson Button’s flagging career back on track with a senior appointment in order to sort out problems that have resulted in his car losing crucial ground to Renault and Ferrari.
Shuhei Nakamoto, one of the most respected racing engineers in the world, has been appointed senior technical director of the Honda Racing F1 Team, over the head of Geoff Willis, who has guided the team for more than three years.
A statement from Honda made no mention of Willis’s future, except to say that “discussions are currently taking place”. Willis has been unable to put Button into a winning car and Honda were becoming increasingly desperate that each grand prix brought another near-miss, before the team’s fortunes deteriorated recently, with Button registering one of his worst weekends at Silverstone ten days ago in the British Grand Prix.
That seems to have triggered the appointment of Nakamoto, a key figure in a Honda programme that has resulted in the company dominating motorcycle racing.